Are we cooked? How social media shapes your language | Adam Aleksic

Summary

TED Talks Daily: Episode Summary

Title: Are We Cooked? How Social Media Shapes Your Language
Speaker: Adam Aleksic
Release Date: May 13, 2025

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Introduction: The Evolution of Language in the Digital Age

In this enlightening episode of TED Talks Daily, hosted by Elise Hu, linguist Adam Aleksic delves into the profound influence of social media on contemporary language. Aleksic explores how platforms like TikTok are not only changing the way we communicate but also shaping the very words we use.

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The Rise of Euphemisms on Social Media

Aleksic begins by examining the emergence of new euphemisms, such as "unalive," which serves as a substitute for the word "kill." He highlights the prevalence of this term among middle school students, citing his survey of over a thousand middle school teachers:

“It'll mostly be in informal situations, but could show up in contexts like a student's essay on Hamlet's contemplation of unaliving himself, or a classroom discussion on the unaliving that happens in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”—Adam Aleksic [03:17]

Aleksic draws parallels to historical euphemisms, noting that while the act of softening language around death isn't new, the motivations differ significantly in the digital age. Unlike "decease," which originated from linguistic evolution without external pressures, "unalive" was created to circumvent TikTok's mysterious algorithms that suppress posts violating community guidelines.

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Algorithm-Driven Language Change

A central theme of Aleksic's talk is the role of social media algorithms in accelerating language change. He explains how these algorithms prioritize content that drives engagement, thereby influencing the creation and dissemination of new words and phrases.

“Language has always been a little bit like a virus. Words are transmitted from one host to another, reproducing and changing as they infect different people along social networks.” —Adam Aleksic [05:45]

Aleksic emphasizes that the viral nature of platforms like TikTok enables words to spread from obscurity to widespread usage within months, a process previously taking years or decades.

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Popular Memes and Slang: The Case of the Rizzler Song

Aleksic uses the "Rizzler song" as a case study to illustrate how social media memes propagate slang:

“This is full of current middle school slang words like riz, gyat, and skibidi, and was instrumental in popularizing those words to a broader audience.”—Adam Aleksic [07:10]

He explains that the song's catchy and humorous nature led to its algorithmic promotion, resulting in a surge of videos using related slang. This example underscores how repetition and trendiness are rewarded by algorithms, thereby facilitating rapid language evolution.

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Suffixes and Aesthetic Labels: Cottagecore and Beyond

The discussion shifts to the proliferation of suffixes like "-core," which describe specific aesthetics such as "cottagecore" or "goblincore." Aleksic argues that these labels are not organic cultural movements but rather products of algorithmic incentives:

“Creators respond by making more cottagecore content that propagates the word and then more people interact with it, which makes the word trendier.”—Adam Aleksic [11:30]

He points out that these artificially generated niches lead to hyper-specific commercialized content, fostering identity-based consumption patterns that benefit social media platforms economically.

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Appropriation and Dilution of Marginalized Slang

Aleksic addresses the troubling trend of appropriating slang from marginalized communities, particularly African American English (AAE) and queer lexicons. He explains how words like "yacht," originally stemming from AAE expressions, become mainstreamed and diluted through viral spread:

“When a word like yacht goes from an African American English pronunciation of God damn to being used as a noun for butt in memes like the Rizzler song, it's ultimately exaggerated in a way that makes a farce of its pronunciation and meaning.”—Adam Aleksic [14:20]

This appropriation not only strips the words of their cultural significance but also perpetuates stereotypes and erodes the original contexts from which they emerged.

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The Impact on Identity and Commercialization

The talk delves into how social media algorithms foster the creation of niche identities, which are then exploited for commercial gain. Aleksic illustrates this with the example of "cottagecore," where the algorithm's promotion leads to increased consumerism under the guise of aesthetic preference.

“TikTok's business platform openly claims that subcultures are the new demographics and then gives businesses ideas for how to profit off the cottagecore aesthetic.”—Adam Aleksic [13:50]

He critiques how these hyper-compartmentalized labels serve the dual purpose of reinforcing user engagement and driving targeted advertising, ultimately commodifying personal identities.

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Potential Harms and Concerns

Aleksic raises concerns about the darker implications of algorithm-driven language change. He highlights how harmful rhetoric from extremist groups can infiltrate mainstream slang, inadvertently normalizing toxic ideologies:

“If a kid says something like I'm so burrito pilled, they're not saying that because they're black pilled, but because the underlying idea is making fun of how incels talk.”—Adam Aleksic [16:40]

He warns that while the surface meanings may seem innocuous or humorous, the underlying connections to extremist groups can have detrimental effects on societal discourse.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In concluding his talk, Aleksic offers a balanced perspective. While acknowledging the concerning trends, he reassures that language evolution has always been influenced by social dynamics:

“We should be aware when the way we're talking may have been conditioned by the algorithm. We should be aware when the words we're using may have been engineered to sell us things.”—Adam Aleksic [16:50]

He argues that despite the rapid and algorithm-driven changes, language remains resilient and adaptable. Aleksic emphasizes the importance of understanding etymology and maintaining awareness of the forces shaping our communication.

“I think each of these words is a beautiful, colorful addition to the English language that reflects the diverse cultural moment we're all in.”—Adam Aleksic [16:55]

He concludes with a call to awareness, urging listeners to remain cognizant of how their language is influenced and to critically engage with the evolving lexicon.

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Closing Remarks

Elise Hu wraps up the episode by acknowledging Adam Aleksic's insightful exploration of the intersection between social media and language. She encourages listeners to reflect on their own communication practices in the digital age.

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Notable Quotes:

• “It'll mostly be in informal situations, but could show up in contexts like a student's essay on Hamlet's contemplation of unaliving himself." — Adam Aleksic [03:25]

• “Language has always been a little bit like a virus." — Adam Aleksic [05:50]

• “Creators respond by making more cottagecore content that propagates the word and then more people interact with it." — Adam Aleksic [11:35]

• “When a kid says something like I'm so burrito pilled, they're not saying that because they're black pilled." — Adam Aleksic [16:45]

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Conclusion

Adam Aleksic's compelling analysis sheds light on the intricate ways social media algorithms are reshaping language. By tracing the origins and implications of contemporary slang, he underscores the need for awareness in an era where language is both a tool for personal expression and a commodity driven by digital platforms.

Transcript

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[Adam Aleksic]

How many of you are familiar with the word unalive as a synonym of kill? Show of hands. Okay, like 80% of you. Great, great. Now follow up question. How many of you have heard the word on alive being used in person? Okay, I'm getting like 40, 50%. Great. Those of you that said no clearly aren't middle school teachers. If you spend enough time around seventh and eighth graders, you will hear them using the word. It'll mostly be in informal situations, but could show up in contexts like a student's essay on Hamlet's contemplation of unaliving himself, or a classroom discussion on the unaliving that happens in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And these aren't hypothetical situations. These are actual examples drawn from the thousand plus middle school teachers I've surveyed about this word. It's a weird hobby of mine. I don't know. Clearly. For such a recent word, unalive shows up in an impressive range of scenarios, but the main function appears to be euphemistic. Many kids use the word when they're uncomfortable talking about topics like death, since unalive sounds like a less scary word. And in many ways this is nothing new. We've been euphemizing death as long as we've had language. The word decease, for example, comes from Latin dikesus, which was a euphemism for the previous Latin word for death, Morse. Apparently, even the Stoic Romans were as queasy about death as today's middle schoolers. But there is a crucial difference between unalive and deceased, and that's that we only got the word unalive because you can't say kill on TikTok. They have a mysterious algorithm that removes or suppresses any post that might violate their community guidelines. So people got around with that with the word unalive. The middle schoolers don't know this. They see the word online or hear it from friends and assume it's a word like any other. And fair enough, you probably didn't know where the word deceased came from, unless you're some kind of etymology nerd. But decease didn't happen because it was impossible to carve the word Morse into an ancient Roman tablet. We are entering an entirely new era of language change driven by social media algorithms. As a linguist and content creator, I've been in a unique position to see this happen from the inside. It's almost paralyzing. I constantly feel how my old language is being affected, and judging from the 40% of you who answered both of my questions, it's beginning to change your language too. And it's not just new words. To avoid algorithmic censorship, the very structure of social media is changing. Where words come from, how words get popular, and and how quickly those words spread. I believe some of you might be familiar with this song sticking out your gyat for the Rizzler. You're so skibidy, you're so phantom tax I just want to be your sigma freaking come here, give me your Ohio. For those of you out of the loop, these are the lyrics to the Rizzler song, a meme that went massively viral last year. It's full of current middle school slang words like riz, gyat, and skibidi, and was instrumental in popularizing those words to a broader audience. This is because social media algorithms reward repetition. If a song is funny or catchy and people interact with it, the algorithm will then push that song to more people, since it's proven to drive engagement on the app. The same is true of memes or words in general, since trending metadata like hashtags will also be pushed to people who previously shown interest in similar content. Creators are very aware of this, and we actively use trending audios or hashtags to make our videos perform better. In the wake of the Rizzler song, for example, we saw an explosion of people making videos with the words rizzo, Gyat, and skibidi because they knew those videos would do well, and as a result, the word spread. Language has always been a little bit like a virus. Words are transmitted from one host to another, reproducing and changing as they infect different people along social networks. But now the literally viral nature of social media is accelerating this process from start finish. In the span of just a year, a word like Riz can go from complete obscurity to becoming the Oxford English Dictionary word of the year. And the algorithm is the culprit, but influencers are the accomplices. We use whatever tricks we can to keep you entertained, because that makes our videos do better, which helps us earn a living. This means that we often end up creating and spreading words that help the system. For example, the suffix core has recently gotten very popular in Gen Z slang to describe Specific aesthetics like cottagecore or goblincore or angelcore. And on the surface level, these are cute. You watch a cottagecore video, you like it. Later on you get more cottagecore content. You might even start to identify with a cottagecore aesthetic. But here's the thing. It's all fake. The entire reason these aesthetics exist is because TikTok algorithm has decided that words like cottagecore qualify as trending metadata. So creators respond by making more cottagecore content that propagates the word and then more people interact with it, which makes the word trendier. And this happens because social media algorithms wants to make you identify with hyper compartmentalized labels, since they can then give you extremely specific commercialized content catering to that identity. Now that you're a cottagecore person, you feel special. Every time you get a cottagecore video, you're like, cottagecore, the algorithm really knows me. The algorithm gave you that identity. You might even start buying cottagecore clothing or cottagecore decorations to fit your new lifestyle as a cottagecore person. And that's exactly what they want. The craziest part is they're not even trying to hide this. TikTok's business platform openly claims that subcultures are the new demographics and then gives businesses ideas for how to profit off the cottagecore aesthetic. Essentially, they're driving the mass production of identity building labels in order to profit off all of us. And while there's nothing wrong with being on cottagecore, TikTok, it is a kind of echo chamber that affirms your cottagecore personality. The same is true of any niche community created on social media. And on one hand, this is great for linguistics, because language change is always driven by groups with shared interests that have a shared need to invent new words. Unalive, for example, became a thing because mental health communities on TikTok needed a way to share their stories and spread resources. On the other hand, some of the linguistic communities created by the algorithm can be actively harmful. Many younger people have started using the suffix pilled to mean convinced into a lifestyle. If I recently discovered that I really like eating burritos, for example, I can say, I'm so burrito pilled. But that word was formed through an analogy with black pilled, a term meaning convinced into incel ideology. Now, incels are a dangerous misogynistic group. They've perpetrated multiple terrorist attacks that have killed dozens of people, and yet somehow their vocabulary is filtering into gen Z slang because the algorithm gave these hate groups a space. I like to consume videos about urban design. And a few months back I got a video about how great it is to be a parking lot pilled pavement princess. Admittedly, I found the video pretty funny and I liked it, which ended up giving me more urban design incel themed meme videos like one about being fossil fuel pilled and bad to the bone and another about being a walk pilled cardio maxer and a lot of people similarly encounter these words as they spread in ironic or mean contexts. Let's take another look at the Rizzler song. The lyric I just want to be your sigma refers to the concept of a sigma male, which incels use to describe their desired position outside of the social hierarchy. And again, on the surface level, it's a funny meme. It's innocent. Many people don't even know where it came from. But for the few people who might be interested in the underlying idea, it's now more accessible to them because of the way that slang spreads on the Internet. It starts in some corner of social media, becomes a viral meme, and along the way the etymology is lost to a lot of people. And this doesn't only allow communities to harm us, it allows us to harm communities. Two of the main demographics that come up with modern slang are the gay and black communities, since marginalized groups consistently use language as a way to reclaim power. All of our most popular Internet slang words slay, serve, busen, queen, cooked, ate, gyat, many, many others all come from queer or black culture. These words originated as a form of creative expression independent from the straight white norms of the English language. But when those words began to be used online, they were quickly taken by people who wanted to capitalize on the perceived coolness or comedic value of black and queer culture. When a word like yacht goes from an African American English pronunciation of God damn to being used as a noun for but in memes like the Rizzler song, it's ultimately exaggerated in a way that makes a farce of its pronunciation and meaning. Its original importance is diluted as it becomes widespread, and you can be sure that none of the middle schoolers saying yacht are aware of its etymology. Unfortunately, just like the euphemization of unalive isn't new, the appropriation of African American English also isn't new. We've been whitewashing black slang since the days of cool and high five, which at this point have become so mainstream they're just seen as regular words. But once again, social media algorithms are a vehicle enabling and accelerating this process. From start to finish, they create communities that feel like they have a space to use their words and then open up those communities just enough to allow those words to spread. That's how we got on alive, that's how we got cottagecore, that's how we got Sigma, and that's how we got Gyat. Whenever I post a video talking about one of these topics, I inevitably get the exact same we're so cooked, meaning we're so screwed. Ironically, this is also TikTok slang coming from African American English, but I wanted to address it. Are we in fact cooked? I know I've just painted a very bleak picture of the future of the English language, and there are a lot of concerning trends to unpack, but these trends all do follow the same historical patterns that we've seen time and time again. I don't think we're sliding into a dystopian 1984 scenario because we're always coming up with new ways around media censorship. If a word gets banned, we'll just come up with another word like we did with unalive. I don't think middle schoolers are suffering from brain rot because younger generations always latch onto new slang as a way to build identity and the older generations always say ah, you're ruining the language. But just like the people who were saying cool and high five back in the day, the middle schoolers saying Riz and Gyat and skibidi toilet aren't going to be incapable of writing an essay. I don't think our vocabulary is being corrupted by the commercialization of our language. We've already been using brand names like Kleenex and Google in everyday conversations, so cottagecore isn't about to turn us into mindless consumer drones. I don't even think we're dangerously normalizing incel rhetoric. If anything, our slang is built on a shared mockery of intel ideas. When a kid says something like I'm so burrito pilled, they're not saying that because they're black pilled, but because the underlying idea is making fun of how incels talk. In fact, I think each of these words is a beautiful, colorful addition to the English language that reflects the diverse cultural moment we're all in. But I do think we should be aware. We should be aware when the way we're talking may have been conditioned by the algorithm. We should be aware when the words we're using may have been engineered to sell us things. We should be aware when our language regurgitates extremist rhetoric. And we should be aware that when that language can be used to harm other people. We should be aware of etymology in general because it helps us better understand who we are today. We should be aware. And with that, I have just one final piece of slang for you. It's a common phrase used by younger people when we finish a long winded explanation of something. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[Elise Hu]

That was Adam Aleksic speaking at TEDxPenn at the University of Pennsylvania in 2024. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tonsika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballaraizo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening. Support for this show comes from Capital One Banking with Capital One helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too. Oh really? Thanks Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply see capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC.

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